A YOUNG child was so badly abused by a York man and woman that "scarcely a square inch" of the child's body was uninjured, a court heard.

Heroin users Rebecca Atkinson, 25, of Fenwick Street, Clementhorpe, and Darren Brough, 19, of Field View, Clifton, admitted offences against the child committed between January 28 and February 7 this year.

They appeared in York Crown Court yesterday and were jailed for 12 months each. Additional charges of child cruelty had been dropped, after it was found to be impossible to prove which defendant had inflicted the injuries.

Simon Hickey, prosecuting, told the court the first signs of abuse were seen when an ambulance crew noticed bruises on the child's neck.

Then a female witness noticed the child had injuries to a little finger and two black eyes.

Police were told and saw the child had bruises to both eyes, on its forehead and had an injured finger.

Mr Hickey continued: "The child was taken to hospital. A doctor saw multiple bruises and that the child had 'frozen watchfulness' which is associated with extreme abuse.

"There were two marks on the child's genitalia and damage to the anus.

"There was no evidence from the doctor or any other that the child bruises easily.

"The child had suffered extreme abuse and had sustained repetitive blows."

Taryn Turner, for Kirkwood, said she acknowledged she had done wrong.

"She is fully expecting and accepting of the custodial sentence that will inevitably follow."

Martin Rudland, for Brough, said his client had pleaded guilty and had made admissions to police.

The abuse happened over a short period, and Brough has already spent five months and nine days in custody for the offences.

Jailing the two, Judge Paul Hoffman said: "One or both of you were responsible for the real and sustained physical abuse of this child. No-one who had seen photographs of his injuries could fail to be horrified.

"The child had been systematically abused. There was scarcely a square inch of the child's body that had not been covered by bruises or abrasions.

"If I had been sentencing you on count one (cruelty) you would have been looking at a sentence of several years."

On top of the 12 months, Kirkwood was jailed for one month for shoplifting and a further month for breaching probation, to run consecutively.

As an automatic consequence of the sentence, both defendants were barred from working with children for life.

*The court was told the child is now "making good progress."

Updated: 08:44 Thursday, October 25, 2001